Short Money

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Leader of the House what formula is used for calculating Short money; when that formula was set; and what mechanism is used to monitor the usage of allocated funds.

George Young: For 2010-11, the formula used to calculate each opposition party's Short money funding is: £14,351 multiplied by the number of seats won by a party's candidates at the general election; plus £27.99 multiplied by one two hundredth of the number of votes cast at the election. The formula was set by a resolution of the House of 26 May 1999 and has been uprated by increases in the retail prices index since then.
	Each Opposition party that receives Short money is required to submit a report from an independent professional auditor, after the end of each financial year, that all the expenses for which the party received financial assistance under the terms of the resolution were incurred exclusively in connection with the party's parliamentary business. The relevant criteria are set out in notes provided to the auditors.